Daily Meditations

Psalm 79:12 Pay back time! Firstly, what does the Psalm writer mean when he asks to Lord to “ pay back into the laps of our neighbours?” Obviously, it’s a phrase that was in common use and it probably means more than just dump something into the lap of a person who is sitting down! Look carefully and you will note that the noun is plural, so it encompasses all the neighbours, in fact the whole of Babylon is in view. It’s pay back time and the psalmist wants the Lord God to dump on the Babylonians seven times the contempt that they have hurled at Him! The word “lap” here more correctly means bosom or heart, so Asaph’s descendant is asking God to hit the Babylonians where it hurts the most, in the very core of their culture and their empire, and to hit them so hard, they will never recover. He did, and they didn’t! The significance of the number 7 is important here, it always signifies completeness, perfection, fulness. When 7 comes up, the job is done, nothing more can be added, it is f

Psalm 79:11 The strong arm that preserves We have already determined that this Psalm was written during the time that the Jews had been exiled to Babylon and held in captivity there. They were not locked away in prison cells, Babylon was their prison cell. History records that the people were put to labour and were, in one sense, free. However, should they try to escape it would be under threat of death. This captivity was not dissimilar to the slavery their ancestors had experienced in Egypt, except that the people now knew that they belonged to a land, and they had an identity as a nation which they had jeopardised by their foolish disobedience and unbelief. It’s one thing being imprisoned and enslaved and it’s not your fault – that is injustice. It’s another thing knowing that you deserve your punishment – that is justice. And so, the cry went up to God, the groans of the prisoners were heard in heaven along with the plea that His strong arm should preserve those who were condemned

Psalm 79:10 Where is their God? How often do we hear this rather pathetic cry,  “Where is their God?”  It is presented in many different ways, “Why does God allow suffering? Why doesn’t God do something? Where is God when you need Him? What, in God’s name, is going on?” Of course, these questions are usually asked by those who have no concept of who God really is and what He is really like. In truth, He is active all around us, as we have seen. He is also party to a spiritual battle between good and evil where He spends an enormous amount of energy and grace in trying to keep humanity from walking straight into the pit of hell. He  has every right to be an angry God who gets sick and tired of mankind’s endless rebellion and their determination to pursue any other gods but Himself.  I listened to the Radio 4 News early this morning, three of the four reports I heard were all to do with climate change. In August of 2022 it is blamed for the floods in Pakistan, for the drought in Andalucí

Psalm 79:9 For the glory of Your name At last, a cry of penitence,  “Help us. Deliver us. Forgive our sins.”  The writer has set out the dilemma that the people are in. He has described the events that have led to the destruction of their land and the ignominious journey of captivity to Babylon. He has pleaded for God to rain down destruction on Israel’s enemies. Now, he cries for his people and asks that God forgives them. Are these the words that the Lord had been waiting to hear?  Notice that this is not a selfish plea, twice the writer pleads the glory of God’s name. What does that mean? Well, Israel were God’s chosen people. The land was His land of promise. The relationship that He had with the Jews was founded upon Covenant promises made to men like Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David. If the people were abandoned by Him forever and were never to be restored, then the name of the Lord God would be vilified amongst the nations and amongst His people. It’s ironic is it not, that it wa

Psalm 79:8 We are in desperate need! 2 Kings 17 carries a terrible indictment against Israel. They had abandoned God’s ways to follow the practices of the heathen nations. They built high altars and erected Asherah poles. They worshipped idols and rejected God’s decrees and the Covenant He had made with them. They worshipped the stars, and they exalted the pagan god, Baal. They practiced child sacrifice and divination and used omens for spiritual guidance. So, God gave Israel over to plunderers, He abandoned His people.  He was so angry with them that He showed no favours to Judah and allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed and the Temple to be ransacked and raised to the ground. Wicked kings had come and gone, and the situation reached breaking point when the Lord God admitted that  “He was not willing to forgive.”  2 Kings 24:3-4. As a consequence, the people must suffer God’s judgements and the curses He pronounced over those who broke His commandments and who abandoned Him. This did not

Psalm 79:7 Jacob has returned Jeremiah writes,  “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the people who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.”  Jeremiah 10:25.        We have already commented on the pointlessness of assuming that politics can solve the world’s problems and that any man-made solutions, be they left wing, right wing, centre ground or dictatorial are just the by-products of a much higher strategic plan. Jacob’s devastation had many causes, historians would point to the military weakness of the Jews and the territorial ambitions of the King of Babylon. But we know that the Jews were defying their God and were being judged for their rebellion, and we also know that Babylon was an empire controlled by evil spiritual powers that were tools in God’s hands. Jerusalem was ransacked, the land of Israel was a wilderness, the people who lived there were either taken captive o

Psalm 79:6 Pour out Your wrath This is a very Jewish cry that is heartfelt and justified. They were, and are, God’s chosen ones. At the time when this Psalm was written, they alone on the earth could claim that Elohim was their God and that they had His protection and care in times of peace and of trouble. No other nation worshipped their God, He was the only true God, all others were either imagined or counterfeits, engineered by the deceptive exploits of the Satan. Thus, in times of trouble, Israel had the right to ask their God to free them from the domination of the other nations and to pour out His wrath on their enemies. It’s a request that also reflects their helplessness. Captivity in the land of a dominant empire, with no army and no leadership was as good a reason as any for these stubborn-hearted people to admit their sinfulness and beg God to deliver them. Which He did, after 70 years.  The big question for us is can we make such a request and ask the Lord God to pour down

Psalm 79:5 How long? At first sight, the plea to the Lord,  “how long”  smacks of impatience and reads more like a complaint than a cry of anguish. It perhaps gives us an insight into the boldness of the people and their confidence that if God is righteous and just, then there must be an end to their suffering! What is quite plain is that the disasters that have befallen Israel are not attributed to the Babylonians, who do not even get a mention in this Psalm. No, the battle is with the Lord, He is the instigator of the suffering, and He is the only source of relief. There is no discussion about negotiation, or political arguments or peace-keeping deals; the Lord God is seen as the One single force that has caused this catastrophe and the One single means to freedom and restoration. Despite their rebellion and their pagan worship and their arrogant disobedience of the Lord’s commands, these people still looked to the Lord for their salvation. It was not so much, if God would help them,

Psalm 79:4 Objects of contempt Even as I write these words there is abundant evidence that the contempt in which Israel was held in 600BC is no different to the scorn and derision with which they are viewed today. Arab nations scoff at them, and the wider world turns a blind eye to antisemitism. Meanwhile the land of Israel prospers, the crops are abundant, the economy grows rapidly, the IDF continue to be the most adept military force in the world and Israel continues to bless the world through the media, the arts, science, finance, medical research, entertainment, engineering et al. The list is endless and yet no one wonders why! Innumerable attempts have been made to destroy these people, but they are still with us. Empires, democracies and dictatorships have all prospered and sought to remove the Jews but where are they today? Where are the empires of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the Nazis a

Psalm 79:3 Jerusalem survives! We should always remember that the nation of Israel has a special place in God’s heart. He showed them incredible patience and mercy during their troubled history up to time of Messiah. And despite their rejection of the Christ and their subsequent dispersal to the four corners of the earth, it turns out that God never forgot them. So much so, that He has recently unveiled a plan to return them to the Land of Promise and to re-establish them again as a nation. Study the UN resolutions that established Israel prior to 1948, look at the War of Independence, the miracles of the Six Day War and the Yom Kipper War and you have to conclude that these people are still God’s own people. In more recent times, history shows that those who have blessed Israel have been blessed and those who curse Israel have been cursed.  So, while atrocities such as are described in verse 3 are frighteningly true and have occurred over and over again throughout human history, the n

Psalm 79:1-2 A prayer for forgiveness and redemption and judgement of enemies Our friend Asaph is writing again, or at least a descendant of his family group. The Psalm dates to the time of the exile of the Jews into Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar in around 600 BC, 400 years after King David. Psalm 79 reflects two opposing and yet interwoven stories; the sins of Israel and her fall from God’s protection, and the hostility and brutality of the Babylonians who have taken advantage of the weakened state of God’s people. Both scenarios are explained in detail, but we will end on a note of hope. There are a number of prophetic and historic accounts of these events, it will be interesting to see how they are condensed into a song!   V1-2      The opening verse sets out the full horror of the Babylonian invasion. Four devastating calamities hit the city of Jerusalem and the land of Judah: - ·        Foreign nations invaded the land that belongs to the Lord ·        The Holy Temple was defi

Psalm 78:72 Our "David" is Jesus This verse surely has present implications but prophetic ones too! David the Bethlehemite, the son of Jesse, was undoubtedly a wonderful King of his people. Yes, he had integrity and yes, he was a man with extraordinary skills. He had a heart for his people and a heart for God but, as we know from his Psalms, he wrestled with himself, with doubt and lust and fear and every human weakness. A man for us all to emulate but he was only a man, his greatness came from the Holy Spirit being upon him. The prophets foretell of another David who will reign over Israel. Ezekiel writes,  “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.”  Ezekiel 34:23-24. Micah also writes of a promised ruler from Bethlehem,  “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the maj

Psalm 78:70-71 God chose David Somewhere out in the Judean hills, a thousand years before Christ and not far from the City of Bethlehem, a young boy watched over his father’s sheep. The boy was diligent and strong and multi-talented. He could play the harp, compose his own songs, wield a slingshot with pinpoint accuracy and fight off wild animals that threatened the flock. One day he was summoned by his dad and raced home to find a stranger present at the family home, a prophet of God called Samuel. To everyone’s astonishment Samuel anointed the shepherd boy with oil and pronounced that he would be a future King of Israel! As he did so the Spirit of the Lord came upon the young man whose name, of course, was David.  David was destined to leave the sheep pens and to become the greatest King that Israel ever knew. David was from the tribe of Judah and later it would become clear that through his line, Messiah would come. Messiah, who would be called the Son of David, and be born in Royal

Psalm 78:69 Earth reflects heaven This verse appears to be open to many interpretations but there is one meaning that I believe is very clear. When the writer talks about the heights, I think he is talking about heavenly places, and when he refers to the sanctuary, surely he is referring to God’s earthly Temple or Tabernacle. The verse is simply pointing out that the earthly sanctuary of God is but a reflection, a simple copy of the glorious dwelling place of God, above.  The sanctuary on earth was a simple structure but it reflected some profound truths. It was a fearsome place and only priests were allowed to serve within it. It was a place built around sacrifice and offerings. No priest could ever enter without ceremonial washing and preparation. Those who served in the sanctuary were lit by an everlasting light (the Menorah that was always kept alight), they ate the living bread from the Table of Shewbread, and they offered their prayers as incense before the Lord. Only one man, th

Psalm 78:67-68 It is God who chooses There is a devastating passage in Jeremiah that sums up today’s verses. Remember that the land of Israel was divided into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon. Judah and Benjamin and the capital city, Jerusalem, formed the southern kingdom and the remaining 10 tribes formed Israel, often called Ephraim. (Possibly because that particular tribe occupied the next and largest area of land going northwards.)  Ephraim was a son of Joseph, with his brother Manasseh, which is why v67 says that God rejected the tents of Joseph. Jeremiah relives all of this as he describes, at a later date, the judgement that is about to come upon Judah when the Babylonians invade.  12” Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.  13  While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you

Psalm 78:66 He beat back His enemies In commenting on verses 63-64 we noted how the Philistines ransacked the land of Israel, killing young soldiers and bringing grief upon the women folk in the land. The wicked sons of Eli were killed, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured and removed from Shiloh, a city that never recovered from these disastrous events. This was the first time that corporate Israel suffered in such a way at the hands of their enemies, and we have noted the causes and the effects of their rebellion against the Lord God. Sadly, this was meant to be a warning shot across the bows, but the lessons were not learned. Even more severe conquests were to follow. So, what happened to the Ark of God? Well, the Philistines took it to Ashdod, one of their major cities, located near the Mediterranean coast. Here they had built a temple to their god, Dagon, who was believed to be the son of El and the father of Baal. The Ark of the Covenant was taken into Dagon’s temple and set

Psalm 78:65 The Lord awoke! Do you remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal? 450 of them gathered on Mount Carmel where altars and wood and bulls were laid out for sacrifice, and Elijah invited the prophets to call on their god to bring down fire from heaven, to consume their offering. The prophets called on Baal from morning until noon, but nothing happened. Elijah taunted them,  “Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or travelling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened!”  So, the prophets tried even harder to wake up their deity, they even slashed their bodies and shed blood for him. 1 Kings 18.  I don’t think that our God sleeps, do you? I don’t think He stirs Himself like a drunk with a hangover either! What God does do is to allow the day of accountability and justice to arrive before He takes action. His anger and His judgement are carefully measured and timed to the perfect moment. He knows that there is only so much that His

Psalm 78:63-64 Actions have consequences V63-64 These two verses, and the one before, talk explicitly about God’s judgement on His wayward rebellious people and it’s not pretty reading:-  “He gave His people over to the sword.”  “Fire consumed their young men.”  “Their young women had no wedding songs.”  “Their priests were put to the sword.” “Their widows could not weep.” Remember that these events took place when the Tabernacle was at Shiloh. Remember too that there is a connection with Hannah and the birth of Samuel and the wickedness of Eli the high priest’s sons – Hophni and Phinehas. (See comments on verses 60-61.)  It’s not unreasonable for us to ask what actually happened and how? “ So, the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated, and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great: Israel lost thirty-thousand-foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”  1 Samuel 4:10-11. What deserves to be noticed here is t

Psalm 78:62 The fury of God Let us remind ourselves once again, that this Psalm was written to be a parable. It recounts events from Israel’s past but with the hope that those who read it and digest it, will learn the lessons that the past has to teach them.  In this instance we have a Holy Place at the centre of the nation’s affairs. The priests are fulfilling their function and have set up the Tabernacle and its contents at the heart of the tribes of Israel. The daily sacrifices, the Holy Days, the rituals and ceremonies and the God-given laws are being upheld and the land is prospering. But, over time, the faith of the people wanes, their prosperity makes them less dependent, the priests turn away from their duties and the religious heart of the nation is compromised. Instead of going to Shiloh, the people opt to go to the high places of sacrifice, built and used by the Canaanites. It is so much more convenient than a long trek to Shiloh which by now, all seems to be rather pointles

Psalm 78:60-61 The ark in captivity There was, of course, no holy site in Jerusalem for the Tabernacle of God, until the reign of King David. The Temple was built by his successor, Solomon, and so the focus of worship had to be somewhere else in the land from the time of Joshua onwards. The place chosen was Shiloh which means “His gift” or “peaceful one.” Many teachers say that the name refers to Messiah and some translations of the Hebrew blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah read,  “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”  Genesis 49:10. So, the Ark of the Covenant came to rest in the Tabernacle at Shiloh, a city centrally placed in the land. Here it remained for three centuries, and the tribes of Israel would visit for feasts or peace offerings. From the time Israel entered the land until the time of the prophet Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant remained in the Tabernacle

Psalm 78:59 God rejected Israel This is a tough verse. It suggests that, because of their pagan worship, and their rebellious disobedience, God washed His hands of the Israelites and wanted nothing more to do with them. That would have meant that they were on their own for the rest of human history and there would be absolutely no evidence that the Lord God cared about them! In fact, the converse is true, He has continued to watch over His ancient people and, centuries after this Psalm was written, He sent Messiah to them and began the church of Christ in Jerusalem.  What could be said is that the corporate glory the nation had under King David was taken away, the northern tribes lost their position and were scattered, and various armies and empires brought Israel and Judah to their knees. It is only modern history that has allowed us to witness the restoration of a united Jewish state and the re-emergence of a prosperous land that is once again impacting the world. God’s Covenant with

Psalm 78:58 The high places It was common practice, amongst the Canaanite tribes and nations, to build altars and pagan shrines on high places. Mountain tops, hill tops, high cliffs, wherever there was a panorama and the earth seemed to meet the sky, they would use that place to get nearer to their gods. The Israelites fell into a similar habit and at times, when there was no central place of worship, no temple and no priesthood, the only alternative was to build an altar to the Lord on a suitable site. Worship at these high places gradually followed the customs of the pagans and was condemned because previous rituals and worship at such sites had been directed to Baal and the other pagan gods. “ When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols and demolish all their high places.”  Numbers 33:52. Such practices almost always led to religious apostasy and falling away from the true faith.  I

Psalm 78:57 A faulty bow The history of the Israelites is littered with rebellion, disloyalty and faithlessness. It seems that these people found it absolutely impossible to stick to God’s Laws and to have a steady, on-going relationship with Him. Perhaps one of the reasons is that their religion demanded an awful lot of them? Its daily rituals, its petty rules, its obscure ceremonies and conventions made it impossible for ordinary people to follow. Yet, by the time of Christ, the Pharisees and Scribes had added even more rules to the endless liturgy of observances that so overwhelmed those who just longed for a simple faith. And, despite all of the persecution and tragic circumstances of their past history, modern, orthodox Jews still seek to maintain an ascetic, religious lifestyle that is controlled by rules and regulations! We know that we have a God who does not look at any of this, He is interested in men’s hearts, and He knows that we cannot keep all of His Laws, even though He

Psalm 78:56 They put God to the test The consequences of a life of comfort and peaceful coexistence with their neighbours spelled disaster for the Israelites. Instead of their faith in the Lord being strengthened, it was diminished. Instead of grateful acknowledgement of His ways, they turned to idolatry. Instead of diligent attention to God’s Law, they became lazy and careless, and their religion was banished to the side lines. The full story is the theme of the Book of Judges, and it is sad reading. So, how did God feel about this? Today’s verse highlights three effects of such behaviour and these are important for us to remember. The first is that the Lord God was put to the test! They tested His patience, His mercy, His promises, His faithfulness, in fact all that the Lord had revealed about His character was severely tested by these ungrateful people who, having got what was promised, abandoned their relationship with the Provider! This was not just forgetfulness, God called it re

Psalm 78:55 Settling down We talked before about this Psalm being a parable. This verse is really a brief summary of the whole of the Book of Joshua which describes the conquest, by Israel, of the Promised Land. They had to drive out the indigenous tribes and nations and then the lands they had taken were allotted to each of their 12 tribes: - Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribe of Levi did not inherit land but were appointed as the religious leaders of the people.  After a few years, the land was subdued, crops began to grow, and the people became self-sufficient. A generation that had grown up in the wilderness as nomads were now settled in their homes with their families, and after nearly 500 years the descendants of Jacob were, at last, at rest. As we know, the self-sufficiency of the people led to a gradual lack of dependency on the Lord, the conquests of the Canaanites produced a level of arrogance, and th

Psalm 78:54 His Holy Land There is a lot of confusion about the ownership of the land of Israel. Even its names cause confusion, I’m astonished to look at the maps at the rear of many Bibles and often find one called, “Palestine at the time of Christ.” Israel has never been called Palestine in the Scriptures, it is the name conjured up by the Romans, a name of insult that is rooted in the word Philistinia – the Philistines! It was not renamed Palestine again until after the 1 st  World War when the Ottoman Empire broke up and the area came under the British mandate.  What we must always remember is that this small tract of land, on the eastern borders of the Mediterranean Sea is God’s Land. He owns it and He allowed His Chosen People to occupy it, that is why the Psalm refers to it as “His Holy Land.” The Covenant made with Abraham has only one signatory by which the Lord God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants forever. Genesis 12:6-7, Genesis 15:18-21.  What is interesting is

Psalm 78:53 He guided them safely When you think about it, the direct intervention of God in the affairs of His people was, at times, limited. He allowed men to take over the day-to-day running of Israel and some of them were mighty men of faith indeed. What is blindingly obvious, as we have noted in the previous verse, is that the more dependant the leaders were on the Lord, the better they were at their job. This applies to Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, David  and many more, all of them were fine as prophets, priests and kings when the Lord was in His rightful place in their lives, but useless without Him! The Lord’s direct intervention and guidance was never more plainly seen than when He led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land. During this time, the miracles of guidance and provision were almost daily occurrences. And just as the Lord provided for His people, He also removed the threat of their enemies. The Israelites were safe and unafraid, the Egyptians

Psalm 78:52 The Good Shepherd Psalm 72 ended with this familiar illustration, the Lord as the Shepherd going before His flock and the people following in His wake. It’s a beautiful picture of the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Trapped by merciless oppressors, with no voice, no plan, no purpose and no hope, the Hebrews were on the verge of collapse. Their new-born sons were being murdered, their workload had crushed their spirits and they were a broken people. Then, the Lord God literally sends them a shepherd. Moses is more than just a heroic Commander in Chief, he is an experienced farmer who has spent 40 years watching over his animals. He knows every quirk and characteristic of a sheep’s nature and he knows how to care for and protect large flocks in the wilderness. It is to this very same wilderness that he must now take a human flock whose ways are not dissimilar to the sheep that he has tended for decades! Moses was not alone in this hazardous venture. He had his bro

Psalm 78:51 The curse on Ham After the flood had passed,  Noah set about planting a vineyard to provide for this growing population Genesis 9:20. However, he ended up drunk and naked inside his tent Genesis 9:21. Ham saw his father in this dishonourable state, but rather than help his father, he compounded the shame by telling his two older brothers Genesis 9:22. Some scholars speculate that Ham actually castrated or raped Noah while he was in the tent, but that is not evidenced in the text of the Bible. Shem and Japheth quickly spread a cloak between the two of them, walked into Noah's tent backwards with their faces turned away, and covered their father's nakedness with the cloak Genesis 9:23. These older brothers covered their father's shame and restored his honour. When Noah awoke, he realised what each of his sons had done and he pronounced a curse over Ham’s son, Canaan, and blessings over Shem and Japheth. The curse was that Ham's descendants be " a servant

Psalm 78:50 He prepared a path for His anger The first thing that this verse tells us is that God’s judgement is not random, nor is it unconsidered and it is most certainly not a knee-jerk reaction to His opponents! God  “prepared a path for His anger.”  In other words, just as the Lord Almighty plans meticulously to bless and be gracious to His people, He also plans fastidiously for retribution and the judgement of their oppressors. And even when the opposition took the form of a pagan nation like Egypt, he gave them 9 chances to repent before delivering the killer blow! It is worth pointing out that the decisions that were made by the Egyptians were not democratically reached, the blessing or cursing of the nation was in the hands of Pharaoh and his small company of advisors. It is a terrible responsibility to be the leader of a nation and to be culpable for its fortunes! In the end, the Lord God despaired of ever being able to negotiate a safe deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from t